IslamicFinance.de

Backed by sovereign funds Iqbal Khan and his private equity firm Fajr Capital invests for financial and social returns ins Muslim countries. Fajr is a union of institutions that have high credibility and share the same values. CEO Iqbal Khan sees it as his mission to broaden the educated Muslim middle class.

The easy triumphalism about capitalism that ruled at the beginning of this century has given way to a much sharper debate about whether the system is a genuine wealth creator. Such talk has permeated conversation in the most elite business institutions. In both 2012 and 2016, the leaders of the World Economic Forum placed the future of capitalism at the heart of their annual agenda because, as founder Klaus Schwab put it, 'capitalism in its current form no longer fits the world around us'. Though no one disputes capitalism's raw force, the deeper issue is whether the free-market system, has been asking the wrong questions, examining the wrong data, reaching the wrong conclusions and pursuing the wrong goals.

Tasked with managing the kingdom's non-oil and gas investments, Mumtalakat seeks to turn around state-owned enterprises by promoting private sector-style transparency and sound corporate governance. The $11.2 billion fund holds stakes in 38 enterprises, including many of the country's largest employers, with a total value of about $8 billion. It has undertaken major restructurings at several of these companies, including two of the most critical: Aluminum Bahrain and Gulf Air. Mumtalakat is also beginning to flex its muscles as a portfolio investor, taking significant minority stakes in three foreign companies over the past two years in a bid to diversify its holdings and provide knock-on benefits to the Bahraini economy.